Urbanization in Pakistan:

Challenges and Options

P ki
Pakistan Institute
I i off D
Development
l Economics
E i (PIDE)
Pakistan
Introduction
y The rapid growth of cities is a continuing
process in developing economies including
Pakistan
y In Pakistan
Level of urbanization has increased from 7
percent in 1951 to 36 percent in 2010
x Annual average
g growth
g rate is 3.1% (1990-2010)
( ) which is
higher as compared to South Asias figure of 2.7%
y Pakistan will be home to a massive urban
population
l off 130 million
ll in 2030
with one of the largest urban centers in the
world
ld
 Introduction
Urban population Urban slum
Regions/Countries pop
% of population % change per annum % of urban pop
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 90-95 95-00 00-05 05-10 2005
Afghanistan 18.1 19.1 20.2 21.3 22.6 8.4 3.6 4.6 4.1
Bangladesh 19.8 21.7 23.6 25.7 28.1 3.9 3.6 3.4 3.0 70.8
Bhutan 16 4
16.4 20 5
20.5 25 4
25.4 31 0
31.0 34 7
34.7 30
3.0 62
6.2 69
6.9 40
4.0
India 25.5 26.6 27.7 28.7 30.0 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.4 34.8
Maldives 25.8 25.6 27.7 33.8 40.1 2.6 3.4 5.4 4.6
Nepal
p 8.9 10.9 13.4 15.9 18.6 6.6 6.6 5.6 5.0 60.7
Pakistan 30.6 31.8 33.1 34.5 35.9 3.2 3.4 3.1 2.7 47.5
Sri Lanka 18.6 17.2 15.8 14.7 14.3 -0.5 -1.1 -0.6 0.7
South Asia 27.9 29.1 30.5 31.7 33.2 3.0 2.7 2.5 2.4 36.8
ASEAN 31.6 34.5 38.3 40.0 42.0 3.5 3.6 2.2 2.2 33.9
ECO 43.2 44.0 45.3 46.6 48.1 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.2 32.1
SAARC 25.0 26.1 27.3 28.5 29.9 3.0 2.8 2.6 2.5 39.8
Af i
Africa 32 1
32.1 34 1
34.1 35 9
35.9 37 9
37.9 40 0
40.0 38
3.8 34
3.4 34
3.4 35
3.5 55 3
55.3
Europe 68.9 69.5 70.2 71.4 72.7 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.6
LAC 70.3 73.1 75.5 77.7 79.6 2.5 2.2 1.9 1.6 25.5
World 42.6 44.5 46.4 48.6 50.5 2.4 2.2 2.2 1.9 35.8
Introduction
Introduction
y The rapid pace of urbanization in Pakistan pose
significant challenges in terms of:
Effective
Eff i urban b governance
Public service delivery
Urban Poverty
Urban Governance Issues
y Failure to put in place a system of local
governance
City district governments established under
Local Government Ordinance (2001)
x Abolished and no longer functional
Reversal of local ggovernance to municipal
p and
local development authorities
x These authorities lack capacity
p y for modern
management of burgeoning cities such as Karachi
and Lahore
Urban governance issues
Urban governance issues
10 cities where the urban population is more than
one million in 2030

Cities Population in 2030 (000)

Karachi 27993
Lahore 14626
Faisalabad 6192
Rawalpindi 4149
M lt
Multan 3025
Hyderabad 3005
Gujranwala 3143
Peshawar 2778
Islamabad 3175
Quetta
Q 2038
Sargodha 1087
Public Service Delivery Issues
y Public service delivery is woeful in major
urban centers as well as towns
Lack of urban planning
g of sewerage
Shortage g and drainage
g facilities
Land market issues
Housing issues
Public Service Delivery Issues
y Public service delivery hampered by lack
of adequate financing.
Municipal authorities rely on transfers from
the provincial governments
Little capacity to generate their own
resources through g taxation
Property tax needs to be devolved to the
local authorities for better incentives for
resource generation at the local level.
Urban Poverty
y Urban poverty
Urban poverty is distinct from the rural
poverty with respect to its incidence,
economic, demographic and political aspects
In 2007-08, urban poverty increased to 14.1
percent
Urban Poverty
y Recent rise in urban poverty is mainly
attributed to slow economic growth with
li it d employment
limited l t opportunities,
t iti llow
development expenditure, low private
investment, continuing rurall to urban
b
migration, high inflation, poor governance,
and inadequate provision of social services.
y This massive ppovertyy with unemployment
p y
raises severe challenges for the process of
urbanization
Options
y Given the rapid increase in urban population
population, a
prudent and efficient local government policy is
needed in Pakistan
y There is a need for capacity building of local
authorities
th iti as these
th llackk administrative
d i i t ti and d
technical expertise.
y The Devolution process will only be effective if
local governments have enough human and
physical infrastructure.
Options
y Provision of public amenities is essential
for economic growth and prosperity
y Urban areas are confronted with
enormous housingg deficit,, estimated to be
2.7 to 3 million units.
y Therefore
Th f access tto hhousing
i fifinance along
l
with innovative construction strategies in
a complex urban setting is essential to
address the housingg deficit.
Way Forward
y The Vision 2030 and New Growth Strategy
(NGS) for Pakistan recognizes cities as the
pprimaryy engines
g of growth,
g development,
p and
innovations in Pakistan.
y The NGS proposes creation of urban centers in
Pakistan that could compete globally in the future
with the other knowledge economies.
y The role of cities in economic development is
clear from the fact that cities are producing more
than 80 percent of global GDP.
GDP
It is because; cities act as hubs of knowledge,
innovations, creativity, and institutions
Way Forward
y The development of new cities will
generates more jobs, attract more
investment and boost construction
y
industry.
THANK YOU